Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer in American politics. She made history when, in 1968, she became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress, a ground-breaking feat that challenged racial and gender mores of the time. However, Chisholm’s legacy extends far beyond that initial achievement; she went on to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her tale is explored in Netflix biopic, Shirley, starring Regina King in the title role. It adapts some of the key moments, challenges, and successes of her life – but how true to real history is it? Who was Shirley Chisholm ..read more

Having run away from a life of slavery as a young man, Frederick Douglass went on to forge his own path as an abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. In this ‘Life of the Week’ episode, Clare Elliott guides Paul Bloomfield through Douglass’s life story, explaining how he came to play such a significant role in the fight for rights in the 19th-century US and beyond. Green Video Post Element Video ID: "656e768784113809ff5d39c5cfa43bddd049f5af" Mix ID: "" Player ID: "67n8mz30" If the player doesn't appear here within a few seconds, the Player ID or Licence Key (set via IM Green Video s ..read more

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Explore more content from week four of our Regency course: Slavery and Abolition, with Dr Lizzie Rogers – watching time 12 mins The children who fought for the abolition of slavery – reading time 10 mins The Haitian Revolution: the enslaved Africans who rose up against France – reading time 8 mins Did George III support the slave trade? – reading time 7 mins African American abolitionists in Britain – listening time 43 mins 9 key places connected to the abolition of the British slave trade – reading time 13 mins The Zong Massacre: what the dark episode meant for the ..read more

John Newton was a slave-ship captain in the 18th century. However, he was also a devout Christian who went on to become a famous preacher and davwrote the globally recognised hymn Amazing Grace. James Walvin talks to David Musgrove about how Newton and his contemporaries made sense of the contradiction of slavery and Christianity, and how Amazing Grace has taken on a life of its own after him. James Walvin is the author of Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn (University of California Press, 2023 ..read more

John Newton was a slave-ship captain in the 18th century. However, he was also a devout Christian who went on to become a famous preacher and davwrote the globally recognised hymn Amazing Grace. James Walvin talks to David Musgrove about how Newton and his contemporaries made sense of the contradiction of slavery and Christianity, and how Amazing Grace has taken on a life of its own after him. https://media.immediate.co.uk/volatile/sites/7/2023/12/amazinggrace-2ad58de.mp3 James Walvin is the author of Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn (University of California Press, 2023 ..read more

Who was Bayard Rustin? An advocate of pacifist agitation, Bayard Rustin was a pivotal figure within the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1960s. He was not only the leading force behind the highly significant March on Washington in 1963, but he was also a close adviser and confidante of Dr Martin Luther King until the latter’s assassination in Memphis in 1968. But Rustin remains a less-heralded figure of the civil rights movement, who faced both discrimination and opposition due to his status as an openly gay man. Despite working behind-the-scenes rather than in the limelig ..read more

Sixties Britain didn’t swing for all its citizens – with racism, anti-immigration rhetoric and the spectre of unemployment affecting many black and Asian Britons. But those affected were determined to fight for their rights. Speaking to Rhiannon Davies, Preeti Dhillon revisits this familiar era to reveal examples of anti-racist activism that have been largely forgotten today. https://media.immediate.co.uk/volatile/sites/7/2023/10/fightingracisminpostwarbritain-715cbde.mp3   Preeti Dhillon is the author of The Shoulders We Stand On: How Black and Brown people fought for change in the Unit ..read more

Tuberculosis – otherwise known as the ‘Great White Plague’ – was a scourge on society and killed countless sufferers. Rhiannon Davies spoke to Maria Smilios to find out about the little-known story of the black nurses of New York’s Seaview Hospital who helped fight the disease – and were part of the historic drug trials of the 1950s that saw the arrival of a long-awaited cure. https://media.immediate.co.uk/volatile/sites/7/2023/10/diseasekillers-92d9ac7.mp3 Maria Smilios is the author of The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis (Little Brown, 2023) Buy no ..read more